Category: Auto Racing

Lundqvist Subs for Pagenaud at Nashville

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Finally, Linus Lundqvist gets his shot. Lundqvist, the 2022 Indy NXT (Indy Lights) champion, will substitue for Simon Pagenaud in the 60 car for Meyer Shank Racing this weekendat Nashville.

Simon Pagenaud issues this statement this morning:

The news release from Meyer Shank Racing:

Lundqvist to Drive for Meyer Shank Racing in Nashville INDYCAR Weekend

Lundqvist will substitute for Simon Pagenaud in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda

Pataskala, Ohio (31 July 2023) – As Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) heads to the fourth street circuit on the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, the Ohio-based team will welcome Linus Lundqvist to its lineup alongside Helio Castroneves for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday (12:00pm ET, NBC, SiriusXM Ch. 160). 

Lundqvist is stepping in for Simon Pagenaud, who continues to recover from a practice accident at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier this month. While he continues to improve, he has been advised by the INDYCAR Medical Team to not participate in this weekend’s event in Nashville.

Following the Mid-Ohio accident, MSR has continued to campaign the No. 60 Honda-powered entry, with the team’s IMSA Championship winning driver Tom Blomqvist making his INDYCAR debut on the streets of Toronto while Conor Daly stepped in on short notice to compete in both the Mid-Ohio race and the Iowa Doubleheader.

Now, the 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone Champion will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES race debut with MSR as he heads back to a track that he has seen much success at. Lundqvist excelled in INDY NXT competition, scoring third in the championship in his rookie campaign in 2021 and backing that up with a run to the title in 2022 on the strength of five wins and nine podium finishes.

In addition to his success in INDYCAR’s feeder series, Lundqvist has had two INDYCAR tests this year at Texas Motor Speedway and Sebring International Raceway.

Lundqvist heads into the Nashville event with some recent familiarity of the track, having swept the 2022 event with a pole and victory.

In honor of heading to the ‘Music City,’ the No. 60 machine will once again carry the all-new SiriusXM Channel, CARRIE’S COUNTRY – XM Ch. 60 – which is a specialty channel with music curated by the eight-time GRAMMY winner, Carrie Underwood.

Lundqvist will join INDYCAR SERIES veteran Castroneves who will drive the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda around the 2.17-mile street course. Castroneves has shown well in his two outings in Nashville, finishing ninth in 2021. Last year’s event saw Castroneves start from the back of the field following an engine change, but the Brazilian driver worked his way up to a 13th place finish. 

The sister MSR car driven by Pagenaud, finished inside the top ten in 2022, finishing ninth after starting 13th. 

The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will air live on, Sunday, July 30th on NBC starting at 12:00pm ET. All Practice sessions and Qualifying can be viewed on Peacock. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage on SXM Ch. 160. 

Meyer Shank Racing Team Quotes:

Linus Lundqvist:

“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming of literally since the start of my career. I could not be more excited about the prospect of finally making my NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut; I am extremely grateful to Meyer Shank Racing for this opportunity. This will be an incredible experience, but also the toughest challenge of my life. Sitting on the sidelines all year, it would be a massive task to join any championship towards the end of the season – let alone the NTT INDYCAR SERIES on the streets of Nashville. There’s been very little time to prepare, but I feel like the sheer excitement of this moment will make up for some of that. Of course, working alongside Helio – one of the true legends of this sport – will also be a huge asset. Last but not least, I would like to wish Simon Pagenaud a continued speedy recovery. While fully aware of everything I have to learn this weekend, I will do my very best to make him and everyone else on the team proud in Music City.”

Helio Castroneves: 

“I’m super excited to head back to Nashville, it’s such a fun city and it has such great energy. The race has always been interesting and it’s very important to stay clean and consistent. We’ve had a pretty good car there the last two years, so I’m hoping that when we go back we’ll be even better. It will be an interesting weekend to have Linus with us as well, he is new to all of this, just like Tom (Blomqvist) was in Toronto. There will be a lot to learn for him, so we’ll see how he adapts.”

BMW Finds Speed on Final Day of IMSA Open Test at IMS 

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IMS Photo

The following is from IMS. I will haver my wrap up of the two days up here tomorrow.

 INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 29, 2023) – One day after Porsche led the first two sessions of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Open Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, it was time for its German rival BMW to show its speed.

Connor De Phillippi led a 1-2 performance by BMW M Team RLL – fielded by NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winners Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – in the last two sessions of the two-day test on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Former Star Mazda (now USF Pro 2000) driver De Phillippi’s best lap was 1 minute, 14.655 seconds in RLL’s No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 that competes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

De Phillippi, Jesse Krohn and NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Colton Herta shared the team’s No. 24 and No. 25 cars and found speed in both prototype machines. Krohn turned the second-quickest lap overall Saturday, 1:14.758, in the No. 24 car.

Both those laps were quicker than the top time recorded in two sessions Friday, a 1:15.244 by Tijmen van der Helm in the No. 5 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963. The RLL BMW team made big improvements Saturday, as its quickest time Friday was 1:15.498 by De Phillippi, more than seven-tenths of a second slower than Saturday.

“It was good today,” De Phillippi said. “We worked on a lot of different areas of the car, made some good steps on the systems side, understanding a few of the areas I feel like we’ve been weak on. So, I feel like we have a better understanding of the direction we need to go.

“I don’t think we have it totally figured out, but at least we have a direction. Really proud of the team. It was a productive two days.

”Four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Sebastien Bourdais was third quickest overall Saturday at 1:14.809 in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh fielded by NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship winners Chip Ganassi Racing.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers tested Friday and Saturday to prepare for the return of the series to IMS for the first time since 2014 at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 15-17.

In the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP3) class, Mikkel Jensen was quickest at 1:16.532 in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA prototype. Matthew Bell led the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class for the second straight day, stopping the clocks at 1:21.209 in the No. 13 AWA machine, an improvement over his best lap of 1:21.401 on Friday.

The sole GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) team that tested Friday, Vasser Sullivan Racing, didn’t turn any laps Saturday. Misha Goikhberg led the GT Daytona (GTD) class at 1:24.192 in the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, the quickest lap over both days for the class.

All five classes will compete simultaneously during the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, with the nearly 10-second gap in lap times between the GTP and GTD cars ensuring plenty of action and drama as quicker prototypes navigate lapped traffic of the production-appearing GTD classes.

In testing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, which showcases the latest high-performance production sports cars, coupes, hatchbacks and sedans, Eric Filgueiras was quickest in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a lap of 1:30.680 in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS. That time, set during the first session Saturday, was considerably quicker than the top GS lap Friday of 1:31.865 by Eric Foss in the No. 56 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 of Murillo Racing.

The No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N fielded by Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian remained atop the Touring Car Racing (TCR) class, but this time Harry Gottsacker was the quickest driver. Gottsacker’s time of 1:32.388 during the second session topped the best Friday time in the class of 1:33.315 set by his teammate and co-driver, NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis 500 veteran Robert Wickens.

For more information or to buy tickets for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 15-17, visit IMS.com.

Results:

IMSA Test Day 2

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Good morning from IMS.Early morning storms have cleared out and we should run the full schedule on time today. The weather will be mider than yesterday with temperatures in the 80s.

Today’s schedule:

Saturday, July 29, 2023

9:00 am – 10:15 am SESSION #3 – MICHELIN CHALLENGE
10:30 am – 12:30 pm Session #3 – WeatherTech Championship
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm SESSION #4 – MICHELIN CHALLENGE
3:15 pm – 6:00 pm Session #4 – WeatherTech Championship

Some things I observed yesterday- the pit stands are massive compared to Indycar stands.

The garages have a lot more equipment than an Indycar garage. It makes sense since the cars are bigger and have more parts.

The speed difference between the GTP cars and the GT cars is more obvious here than nat other IMSA races I’ve attended. The long front straight at IMS really shows how much faster the GTP cars are.

A few more pics from yesterday:

IMSA Test Day 1 Wrap UP

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It was one of the most fun days I have had at the Indianapolis motor Speedway. Since i’ve seen every race since 1921, that is saying a lot. But I exaggerate.

The IMSA Weather Tech series held their foist of two test days today. Ir was fun seeing sports car onn the road course again. I was taking to some other medi people about the 2012-2014 Grand Am series races. Today;’s cars are faster, msleeker than the DPi cars of that era. The sports car merger has turned out to be a good thing, but I still miss the American LeMans Series. I thaought the cars in that series were beasts.

A stormy morning caused a two hour delay. The temperatures rose quickly, and by mid afternoon the heat at the track was as hot as I have ever felt there.

The heat kept the spectator count down. On my brief visit to the turn 2 mounds this afternoon I saw seven spectators. Saturday looks to be a much milder day temperature wise, and I expect the mounds will have a lot more people out there.

In the GTP class, the day belonged to Porsche. The morning session the Penske Porsche number 7 on top with a lap of 1:15.636. Matt Campbell drove the quick lap. In the afternoon session, Tijmen van der Helm had the day’s best lap, 1:15.244 in the number 5 JDC Miller Porsche.

In the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, Robert Wickens led the TCR class in a Hyundai Elantra with a time of 1:33.315.

The test continues tomorrow from 9 am-6 pm. The entire series returns for the race September 15-17.

To view the full results, go to results.imsa.com

First IMSA Sessions Complete

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Both the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Weather Tech Championship series have comleted one round of practice. Michelin Pilot Challenge will take to the track for their second session in about 10 minutes. Then the IMSA cars will finish the first day from 3:454-6:30.

The morning downpour gave way to sunny skies and after a brief respiy=te from the humidity, it returned. The current temperature is 84 degrees with feels like reading of 91.

Practice began with a slightly wet track, which dried quickly. The few wet areas have now dried.

I have not seen any lap times posted.

It is great to see these cars on the track at IMS. I am very excited for the race weekend in September.

Here are a few photos. I will post more later.

Wayne Taylor Racing
Penske Porsche
GTP Cadillac (L) and GTD Lexus (R)
Lamborghini

IMSA Test on Hold

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Greetings from a stormy Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There is currently a thunderstorm at the track, and all is quiet. The storms are supposed to end around 11 am, and cars should be on track soon after that. Despite the storm, temperatures ar still expected in the mid 90s this afternoon.

No shedule of which cars will be out when is out yet.

I will have an update in 90 minutes or so.

Sports Cars Return to IMS

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway starts what is hoped to be a new era of racing with sports cars today. Cars from the IMSA Weather Tech Series will test the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course from 9 am-6 pm th next two days. 22 cars from the IMSA Weather Tech Series series and 11 cars from the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series will be running in the two day test.

The series will return for a race weekend September 15-17.

In 2012 and 2013 The Grand Am series ran a couple of races on the IMS road course in conjucntion with the NASCAR weekend.

The weathetr today calls for a high of 95 with humidity to match. There is a chance of between 9 and 11 this morning. If you’re coming to watch from the turn 2 mounds, make sure you wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. Access to shade might be a good idea as well. Be careful. I can’t afford rto lose either of my readers.

I will be at the track today and part of tomorrow. I plan a mid day update and a wrap up. There will be Indycar news out of Argentina this afternoon as well.

Iowa Race 2- Quick Thoughts

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Josef Newgarden is the Indycar Ovalmeister with his fifth straight oval win. Newgarden has won seven of the last nine Indycar oval races, and he was one suspension failure away from winninf eightn of nine. The finalovalof 2023 comes at gateway in about a month. He is defintiely the favorite going into that race as well.

A;ex Palou managed to put some salve on the bleeding ofm his point lead. His thrid place finish today cuts his lead to 80 points as the series heads to tracks more to his liking at Nashville and the IMS road course. Palou tied his worst finish of the year yesterday finishing eighth.

Today’s race was a much better show than we saw yesterday. There were battles all through the field, with teamates going after each other, and several different challengers for the lead. The teams had he opportubnity overnight to put their cars in race trim, which helped the racing a lot. Iowa should move qualifying to Friday to make Saturday’s race better. And to make both races better, run them at night.

Race Control

I am most confused by calls from race control today. Sting Ray Robb exited the pits with an unsecured tire, which rolled onto the track at pit exit. It seemed that there was no immediate yellow. Several cars, including Newgarden, dodged the errant tire.

The stewards also looked inconsistent on wall contact. Agustin canapinombrushed the wall and brought out the first yellow of the day. later, takuma sato had wall contact, and no caution was thrown. With 12 laps to go, Ryan hunter-reay’s wall contact brough out a yellow, which led to more confusion,.

Race control decided not to open the pits except to let the lapped cars drive through. I admire their effort to finish under green, but this is not how they handled a similar late caution period at Indianapolis. The decision cost some cars the opportunity to get fresh tires for the final few laps. We have seen that move pay dividends at Iowa in the past.

In 2018 at Iowa, a crash late in the race left a green flag finish in doubt. rave vontrol told the teams that they would go back to green. several cars pitted for new rubber. The race finished under yellow, costing those that pitted several positions.

I felt a red was called for given race control’s previous actions at other places.

I have little argument with whatever calls they make as long they are consistent. I may not always agree with the call, but if the stewards are consistent, I’m fine with what they do.

Great Drives

Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth after starting 16th, but he was the last serious challenger to Josef Newgarden just before the last caution. His finish, paired with Pato O’Ward’s third place on Saturday, gave Arrow McLaren two top five finishes for the weekend.

Alex Palou had his best Iowa finish in third. Palou started 12th, and languished n the bottom half of the top 10 or just outside of it most of the day. Palou went a lap down a couple of times, but still managed to end up on the podium. Tesults like today are the kind that win titles.

The Points Battle

A weekend that could have seen Palou’s mhuge lead in the championship demolished turned out to be not so bad. He entered the weekend 117 points ahead of second place. Palou heads to the next race with an 80 point lead. He lost just one third of his lead.

The remaining schedule favors Palou. With just one oval left in 2023, Palou has the edge in tracks where he is stronger than Newgarden. I think Palou will still win the title.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I will be ay IMS this coming Friday and saturday for the IMSA test. I am excited for the sports var series tocome to the Speedway.